Cold War Timeline

By saria y

  • 1945: Feb 4-11 -- Yalta Conference -- Genesis of Cold War.

    The Yalta Conference was a meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was really a meeting to discuss how to rebuild Europe after the war.
  • Period: to

    Cold War,Period

  • 1945: May 8 -- Germany surrenders to Allies

    The German High Command signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces. This surrender resulted in the end of the Second World War.

  • 1946: March -- Winston Churchill delivers "Iron Curtain" speech

    The main purpose of his speech argue for an even closer “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain. He condemed he Soviet Union’s policies in Europe likening it to an "'iron curtain".

  • 1947: June -- Marshall Plan is announced

    The Marshall Plan was signed by President Truman, it granted $5 billion to aid 16 European nations. Joeseph Stalin had no interest in helping restore the economy of western Europe so he refused help form the Marshall Plan.

  • 1950's :Arms Race

    The Arms Race was a competition between the US and the former Soviet Union for superiority in the development and accumulation of neuclear weapons.The arms race ushered in the Col War and only added to the conflict.

  • 1962: Oct -- Cuban Missile Crisis (nuclear war narrowly averted)

    Two years after John F. Kennedy prresedential election he addressed Americans about the presence of the missiles just 90 miles from U.S. People feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war.

  • 1972: July -- SALT I nuclear treaty signed

    Soviet President Brezhnev and U.S. President Nixon, met in Moscow to sign the SALT agreements.These agreements were the most far-reaching attempts to control nuclear weapons.

  • 1973: Jan -- Ceasefire in Vietnam between North Vietnam & U.S.

    The ceasefire began on time but both sides violated it. Vietnamese forces continued to take back villages occupied by communists in the two days before the cease-fire deadline and the communists tried to capture additional territory.

  • 1987: Oct -- Reagan and Gorbachev sign treaty

    Reagan and Gorbachev sign treaty agreeing to remove all medium and short-range nuclear missiles from Europe.The Soviets eliminated about 1,500 medium-range missiles from Europe and the United States removed nearly half that number.

  • 1991: April -- Warsaw Pact ends

    Warsaw was created in response to the forming of NATO. Reforms made under Mikhail Gorbachev led to the end of the Warsaw Pact.

  • 1991: Aug -- USSR Dissolved -- Cold War Ends

    Gorbachev was disappointed in the dissolution of his nation and resigned as the leader of the USSR.It was a peaceful end to a long, terrifying and sometimes bloody epoch in world history.